A confirmed 133 Cardinals will participate in the upcoming conclave to elect the next Successor of St. Peter.
Based on a paragraph in the Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis (UDG), the limit of voting cardinals is 120—13 fewer than what the College of Cardinals has announced will be participating next week.
However, the number of Cardinals in the College has often exceeded the limit, despite the regulations laid down in UDG.
A tradition in the making?
It was on October 1, 1975 that Pope Paul VI first established the rule that the “maximum number of cardinal electors shall not exceed 120” in the Apostolic Constitution, Romano Pontifici Eligendo. Prior to this, in the consistory of 1969, the College of Cardinals reached 134 electors.
Despite Pope John Paul II confirming the rule limiting the number to 120, recent Popes have created more Cardinals, exceeding this number.
This was the case on four occasions for the Polish Pope: in the Consistory of June 28, 1988 (160 Cardinals, of which 121 were electors and 39 non-electors), February 21, 1998 (165 Cardinals, of which 122 were electors and 43 non-electors), February 21, 2001 (183 Cardinals, of which 136 were electors and 47 non-electors), and October 21, 2003 (194 Cardinals, of which 134 were electors and 60 non-electors).
After Pope John Paul II’s death, the conclave opened on April 18, 2005 with the College of Cardinals consisting of 183 Cardinals—117 electors and 66 non-electors.
